Cleaning of the military apparatus: US experts analyze the struggle for sovereignty in the war against Ukraine

Veröffentlicht:

Von:

Analyse: Säuberung des russischen Militärapparats im Ukraine-Krieg Nach Berichten aus nicht offiziellen russischen Quellen wurde der Generalmajor Wladimir Seliwjorstow am Samstag von seinem Posten als Kommandeur der 106. Garde-Luftlandedivision abgesetzt. Bereits zuvor war sein Kollege Iwan Popow entlassen worden. US-Experten sehen in diesen Entlassungen ein Zeichen dafür, dass die „Zersetzung der russischen Befehlskette in der Ukraine“ beschleunigt wird. Das US-Institut für Kriegsstudien (ISW) in Washington hat dazu eine Analyse veröffentlicht. Obwohl das russische Verteidigungsministerium bisher keine offizielle Stellungnahme zu Seliwjorstows Absetzung abgegeben hat, gehen die Experten des ISW davon aus, dass er wie Popow zuvor Kritik an der Kriegsführung geäußert …
Analysis: Cleaning of the Russian military apparatus in the Ukraine War After reporting from non-official Russian sources, Major General Vladimir Seliwjorstow was discontinued on Saturday as commander of the 106th Guard Air Country Division. His colleague Iwan Popow had previously been released. In these layoffs, US experts see a sign that the "decomposition of the Russian command chain in Ukraine" is accelerated. The US Institute for War Studies (ISW) in Washington has published an analysis. Although the Russian Ministry of Defense has so far not made an official statement on Seliwjorstow's dismissal, the experts of the ISW assume that, like Popow, he previously expressed criticism of warfare ... (Symbolbild/MB)

Analysis: cleaning of the Russian military apparatus in the Ukraine War

According to reports from non-official Russian sources, the Major General Vladimir Seliwjorstow was discontinued on Saturday by his post as commander of the 106th Guard Air Country Division. His colleague Iwan Popow had previously been released. In these layoffs, US experts see a sign that the "decomposition of the Russian command chain in Ukraine" is accelerated. The US Institute for War Studies (ISW) in Washington has published an analysis.

Although the Russian Ministry of Defense has not yet given an official statement on Seliwjorstow's dismissal, the ISW experts assume that, like Popow, he previously expressed criticism of the war. Popow himself had confirmed his deduction. The US experts consider these incidents as part of a cleaning campaign by the Russian military apparatus in which non-loyal forces are removed.

According to the analysis of the ISW, the growing disobedience in the military apparatus is expected to lead to a deepening of the division in the Russian military and in the security area. Defense Minister Sergei Schoigu and his chief of staff Waleri Gerassimow should therefore work to get rid of this "illoyal" officer.

The Kremlin and the Ministry of Defense are also intended to try to obtain control over the information and revelations distributed via the Telegram news service. Through Telegram, former Russian intelligence officers had spread insider knowledge that were seen as a criticism of the Russian government.

The ISW experts see another aspect of current developments in the Ukraine War in the struggle for sovereignty and influence on Telegram. This struggle takes place between different interest groups and takes place against the background of Russia's failures in this conflict.

The layoffs of high-ranking officers who have expressed criticism of warfare, as well as the efforts to keep information sovereignty, show the continuing struggle within the Russian military apparatus and the security authorities. It remains to be seen what effects these developments will have on the further course of the Ukraine conflict.